Legacy project to provide food security and job creation
THE Magazine Barracks Remembrance Association paid homage to the arrival of Indian indentured labourers by unveiling two monuments on Friday.
Both monuments – a 120-year-old grinding stone and the other a living monument – were unveiled at Depot Road Memorial Primary School in Chatsworth.
Bobby Pillay, the association's chairperson, said: “The original school was based in the Magazine Barracks near the Durban beachfront.
“This compound housed municipal workers who were indentured. Under the Group Areas Act, the barracks were destroyed and the community was moved to Chatsworth. In 1965, the current school was rebuilt.
“To honour our indentured forefathers from the Magazine Barracks, we decided to do both unveilings last week."
Pillay said the grinding stone was donated to the association by a family in Chatsworth and that it would rest on a granite plinth near the school entrance.
"We intend to engrave it with school milestones and significant events that will happen."
Kiru Naidoo, the association's vice-chairperson, said the living monument was called the Afro-Indian Peace Garden. The project was a joint initiative with the Durban Book Fair and the school.
“We were looking for a legacy project but we were not inclined towards physical statues.
“We decided on a living monument and we planted fruit that includes
banana and orange trees and vegetables instead of flowers.
"We wanted to make a statement that we were reclaiming the land that was originally a banana farm. We have 10 000m² to plant to our heart’s desire and this includes planting African medicinal plants. The idea is to eventually develop this into a tunnel farm that will provide food security and job creation."
Naidoo said once it was operational, they hoped to start a farm stall.
“Heritage vegetables, like bitter
gourd and bhindi, which are difficult to find in the local markets, will be sold to the community. Our aim is to become sustainable.”
He said the association recently did a call-out for the community to donate banana trees. More than 300 trees had been donated so far.
"The schoolchildren will take care of the garden.
“We need the youth to invest their time and show interest in this project so that it will flourish in the years and generations ahead."